Though I do not own this book yet (YET), I have heard soooo many great things about Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours. This past weekend, I got around to making her Chewy, Chunky Blondies (page 109) since we are real big blondie fans in this family. I prepared the recipe with only minor changes (I omitted the coconut and walnuts, and instead of her 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped into chips, or 1 cup chocolate chips & 1 cup Heath Toffee Bits I did 3/4 C chocolate chips (mostly bittersweet with a handful of Hersheys Special Dark thrown in) and 1/2 C Peanut Butter Chips. Other than that, I stuck to her recipe so I won't post it here (But you can find it HERE and HERE).
These blondies came out very good. Good enough that I want to go out and buy the book now for the rest of the recipes. Though they were nothing extra-spectacular that makes them stand out from other blondie recipes I've prepared, I'd definitely make them again. They were a cinch to throw together, nice and sturdy and moist, and with some rich caramelly tones.
I want to take a poll... I'm considering making cupcakes for my wedding this October. I have about 75 - 90 guests, so I'd make around that many cupcakes, and I' get a mall 6 inch cake made professionally to use as the "cake cutting cake" that I put my cute little cake topper on. I'm not doing anything super fancy, just piping some frosting on and maybe throwing a gum paste flower on it (that I would purchase, not make). Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Some people say I can do it, others say I'm totally insane. Fellow bakers - what are your thoughts??? I'd love some insightful input and wisdom. :) Thanks!
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11 comments:
I could eat blondies all day long...I have to tie myself up whenever I bake them so that I don't gobble them up!
From what I've seen in previous weddings/pictures, cupcakes with a small cake seems like a great idea. It's a nice way to have cute desserts that can really complement your color theme, and everyone is always happy to have their own individual cake!
I LOVE the cupcake idea! If I wasn't already married I would TOTALLY do it. And as much as I'd want to do them myself (because, really, I know they'd be better!), I was just SO busy those few days leading up to the wedding that there's no way I would want that added stress. Go ahead and hire it out and give yourself a non-stressful day-of-wedding!
Cupcakes are very cute for weddings! Have you seen the Cupcake Project? All she does is try out cupcake recipes tailored for specific weddings. She started with one and has done several by now. I'd hit her up for some information, advice, and/or encouragement. Btw, these blondies look fabulous and you really should buy Dorie's book!
Well, for what it is worth I did sugar cookies for my wedding favors. I made about 300 cookies (made the dough, rolled and cut it into shapes, and froze the shapes on parchment paper about 2 weeks before, and baked/frosted the 2 days before). I had my mom, aunt, and grandma enlisted as helpers. I'm not going to lie, it was stressful at times, but everyone loved the cookies and I got so many compliments. I think it really added a personal touch to the reception, and the memories with the ladies of my family are wonderful. I don't know that you could do much with cupcakes ahead of time, but I say go for it!
i just found your blog and i love it!
i thnk your idea w the cupcakes is good. you better post pics!
altho, i bet you'll never wanna see another cupcake after you're done with it.
I say definitely do the cupcakes thing!! I did it for my wedding 3 years ago, I wasn't the cupcake baker I am these days but still had a love of cupcakes so I got a family member to make mine - she told me I couldn't have buttercream and so just made a fondant polka dot topper for each cupcake (my theme was polka dots). Looking back I wish I'd done buttercream, it's soo much yummier! and I know you have to frost it on the day/day before but I say it's worth it. If you want to do things ahead of schedule I guess fondant is good cause you can freeze it (which is what they did with my cupcakes). They were definitely a talking point and way more fun than having a big old boring wedding cake!
Thanks I'm glad you liked the cake! Well the mini cupcakes (I actually made 50 in total) took 3 hours from start to finish (baking and decorating). They were quite simply frosted though.
The 50 wedding cupcakes I did last month took about 5 hours. I was making my cupcakes in batches of 24, I get scared about doubling consistencies as I'm not so sure how that always works! but I guess if you were able to make a larger batch it would speed things up! Hope that helps! I'm sure if you browse on some forums..or flickr has some good cupcake groups where you can post things and there are alot of professional bakers who I'm sure could give you better tips than I can! Good luck!
i've never made blondies before... i've been toying around with the idea, and after seeing these, i think i'm going to bake up a batch this weekend...
and i say go for it with the cupcakes... it will make it even more special knowing that you baked them up... have fun if you decide to do it!
I think this was the first Dorie recipe that I ever made and it was a great one to start with.
I think you will be very happy if you buy Dorie's book. I bake a lot from there and almost always, I love the results.
Dorie's book is fabulous - you will NOT be disappointed if you buy it! The blondies look great :)
I think if you're an organized person you could definitely make cupcakes for the wedding. Maybe make them ahead of time and freeze them so you're not making 100 cupcakes in the last few days, because you will definitely be busy with other things. I wish I'd been a baker when I got married, I'd probably have done the same thing.
Well you know me and blondies...love 'em! I have that book but have yet to give that recipe a try. I will have to now.
I just made a dessert table for my brother's wedding. (85-100 people) It was a ton of work but it was worth. As the bride I'm not sure I'd take it on. You have so much on your plate as it is. Will you have someone helping you? (If you were closer to me I'd be happy to give you hand but you're a coupla hours away.) If you decide to do the cupcakes I'd test out recipes for ones that can be frozen and defrosted without sacrificing flavor. I wouldn't trust that they freeze well even if the recipe says it does. I had some recieps that I tried that didn't taste as good after freezing (for only a few days) and defrosting.
Whatever you decide to do for your wedding...good luck! And if there's anything I can do to help drop me a line.
~ingrid
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